Leaping Lindner wrote:Heard excerpts from last night's meeting on ABC radio this morning. Did themselves proud the Hills folk.
Agree that there were a few there that painted us all as ignorant, heartless bigots. This is not the case though. I cringed at sentiments such as “The CFS should let them burn if there is a fire”.
I’d like to say that I learnt a lot from last night’s meeting, but that would be lying. The figure of 500 people in the paper was about right, with the hall fitting 250 and 300 or so mingling outside.
The representative from Immigration really didn’t tell us anything more than what had already been printed in the press. He mentioned that 24 hour medical assistance would be on hand, which when you consider the current plight of Keith and Moonta Hospitals, and the very average state of health services in general, wasn’t well received.
Apart from that, there were very few concrete answers. Still no certainty on the security arrangements and there hasn’t really been any communication between the Federal Govt and the key players in this at this stage. Schooling is a huge issue, with a suggestion made by a local to utilise a nearby school that is closing at the end of this year (Milbrook School..near Cudlee Creek).
Earlier in the week I read that “The adults will be free to mix with local residents but forced to adhere to strict curfews and report regularly to officials about their movements”. Then last night it was suggested that only the children will be permitted to leave the centre for schooling. I was lead to believe the reason for housing these people within a community was to make their transition/assimilation smoother, rather than sticking them out in the desert somewhere in isolation.
It was good to see a number of residents from neighbouring towns attend and share their thoughts on the arrangement. Like one of them mentioned, this is a decision that impacts all Australians in regards to the Govt handling of illegal immigrants. With the 107th boat for 2010 coming to our shores yesterday, where is this going to end? There is a genuine fear of the Army barracks being taken over in the coming years, and a much larger centre being developed on the site.
The local real estate agent was fairly blunt in his assessment on the impact the centre could have on housing prices, and obviously all residents are concerned by this.
One particular local spoke about his experiences in working in the kitchen at the Woomera Centre, and the amount of money splashed against the wall in every regard. He made some very valid points to the Immigration rep, suggesting that after six months a report that details what the true benefits (financially and socially) to the region have been, because quite frankly, the rep was very unconvincing in his sales pitch. I really struggle to see how local business will benefit, as the mob running the centre (Cerco) will surely utilise much cheaper alternatives when it comes to food etc.
The always popular Mark Goldsworthy, Liberal Member for Kavel, spoke passionately about the mishandling of the situation, while Jamie Briggs, Liberal Member for Mayo will attempt to fight the decision next week in parliament. Hills Mayor Bill Cooksley will need to pick the splinters out his backside, and probably hasn’t won too many friends this week.
SAFC- 60 years...
StKFC- 58 years..
